teamprine Posted October 2, 2022 Share Posted October 2, 2022 Hello LINK TO MY PHOTOS regarding my questions below....: I hope there are some kind folks out there that can help\\ advise me on a refinishing project. I AM NOT the artisan, but I have a beautiful hand forged bed. Please excuse me for not knowing the difference between iron or steel? Maybe they are the same? Anyhow I will post picts of my bed project and then picts of the finish I need to restore. My questions revolve around removing all the rust that has "broken" through in areas of wear (lots of moving in my past, as well as 3 kids used bed as jungle gym!). I am also wondering.. is this all the same material? it kind of looks like some of it is still raw material (see joints) and some might have been colored with a paint? or a gel? comments on that are welcome.. few questions to start with: 1) is this a sprayed on finish or a chemical reaction (gel) finish? 2) how would you "strip" the existing finish so that I can cover the rust that has broken through and give it a nice even new color and protective top coat. 3) if this is "spray paint" any ideas on what too use to match the color and depth of color? 4) if this is a chemical reaction process, how do I recreate that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 2, 2022 Share Posted October 2, 2022 Welcome aboard, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you'll have a better chance of hands on help from members living within visiting distance. Your link is broken so there's no chance we can evaluate your problem let alone render meaningful suggestions. You can attach pics from your computer or cut and paste. There is a button below the text pane, just follow the directions. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted October 2, 2022 Share Posted October 2, 2022 Welcome aboard from 7500' in SE Wyoming. Glad to have you. Like Frosty says, we can't really answer your questions without photos. However, rust is a chemical reaction (oxidation) where the iron atoms have combined with oxygen to form an iron oxide. Protective coatings on iron (actual wrought iron has not been used much for over a century) or steel for a physical barrier to keep the iron from the oxygen in air or water. So, if the barrier is broken, e.g., a chip or scratch in paint, the exposed metal will form a rust spot. There are lots of finishes out there. Blacksmiths often use BLO (boiled linseed oil) which is a drying oil which will form a protective barrier as it dries. It darkens the natural dark gray oxide finish on forged steel and is reasonably durable. For certain applications, and I suspect that your bedstead is one of them, spray paint will be the best option. Often, light rusting does not have to be removed and can just be sprayed over with something like Rustoleum brand paint which is designed to go on lightly rusted surfaces. You will need to remove rust if it is so thick to be "crusty" and visibly pitting the metal. Also, if you put your general location in your profile our answers will be better. If you are on a salt water houseboat our answers may be different than if you are in the desert of Arizona. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teamprine Posted October 3, 2022 Author Share Posted October 3, 2022 HI thanks for the comments.. I can see the photos (they are just in the body of the posting, no need to click the link? can you see them now? if not I will attach in a reply, since there seems to be no way to edit my original post Also I got a message from the moderator saying this was in the wrong topic, can someone tell me where I should post this? thanks Mod edit: https://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/262-finishes-for-metal/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 I can see them now, thank you. Do you have a picture of the break? It might be wrought iron (the metal) or mild steel. There are arc welds visible and they aren't repairs. It has forged elements no doubt but shouldn't be too difficult to repair. If necessary to arc weld the break and grind modern welding is much more versatile and adaptable. A more "traditional" repair might be possible, we'll need a look at the break to tell. A "traditional" repair might be more visible. Lots of possibilities ad a lot depends on how you want it done. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teamprine Posted October 3, 2022 Author Share Posted October 3, 2022 okay so like I said Newbie here, as in I only own this item I didn't make it or profess any knowledge of how it was made! Let me know what info or photos I can give you to help you determine what finish might be on here, how I can prep/sand the whole item down and what I can finish it with to give it a look similar to the original finish. to me it seems like the original finish is not paint, but rather a natural coloring? is this possible? the reason I say this is some areas look the look like raw steel and are the same color as the solid tubes which form the bed posts... thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 Yes, it looks like bare steel, possibly with some sort of clear finish on it. If you try scaping it and get a bit of soft material to scrape off it is clear coated somehow. This could be a commercial product or it could be boiled linseed oil. If you want to keep the natiural finish I would take off any rust by lightly using a wire wheel on a drill, dremel, or other tool. Don't be real agressive, just enough to take the rust away. Then I would apply linseed oil, either straight from the can or mixed 50-50 with turpentine. The terp makes it dry faster and smells better. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 Sorry I misunderstood and was off on a whole different trail. My bad, I do that sort of thing all the time. Is there still rust on it? If so a pic of that might help. The area it changes from good finish to damaged will tell us more too. Any idea how old the bed is? I think George has the right of it but the more we know the better the chance we'll be able to help. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 Welcome from the Ozark mountains. For some reason what I see reminds me of Japan Black Varnish. Used extensively in the early 1900s on automobiles, furniture and tools. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_black Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 12 hours ago, teamprine said: Also I got a message from the moderator saying this was in the wrong topic, can someone tell me where I should post this? thanks according to the logs, you had posted this in general smithing, it was moved to finishes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teamprine Posted October 27, 2023 Author Share Posted October 27, 2023 HI there.. finally getting back to my project... I think I need to repost photos first... so what I am gathering by rereading the replies.. >I don't think it's Japan black, since it is gray/steel color >the bed is from 1995, handmade from a local artisan >I love the original color as in picture #6, but you can see how the rust has burst through on the horizontal sections. > my question is that gray color in #6 what raw steel looks like with just a clear linseed finish on it? or to get that color you need to apply a paint or a product that reacts with steel? any ideas are welcome >there is no breaks, the welds you see are the attached steel pieces to create the frame Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted October 27, 2023 Share Posted October 27, 2023 Since the color in photo is on top of the weld i(or at least the top area of the weld) is probably some sort of patina or oxidation which was applied or adquired after the weld was ground/filed. This could be intentional or has simply happened in the environment. You might try tking a test piece of bright steel, applying BLO. and olightly going over it with a torch to partially oxidize the linseed oil and compare the color. That may get you near to what you want. Another possibility is to try commercial gun blue (phosphoric acid). It is available in any gun or sporting goods store. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teamprine Posted October 27, 2023 Author Share Posted October 27, 2023 thanks I will look into a few of these things. So is this a DIY ? would I buff up the whole bed (remove any loose rust/finish, then if either of the (2) mentioned above is indeed the original product, would I just treat that all over, and my piece would have that even gunmetal color again? even in those dark worn areas like in photo #5? whats BLO? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted October 28, 2023 Share Posted October 28, 2023 "Boiled Linseed Oil" I suspect that in photo #5 the lighter areas would darken up and the dark areas would remain the same or get a bit darker. In any case, less contrast between the 2 areas. The name of the game is experimentation. Try a method on a small area and see if it works. If it does, great, proceed to larger areas. If not, try a different method on a small area. Wash, rinse, repeat. I'd remove any rust or flakes with a wire brush before doing anything else. You may want to degrease with alcohol or acetone to give a clean surface for whatever finish you use. Grease and oils, even from your bare hands, are not your friends. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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